Senate confirms Trump picks amid party-line divisions

The US Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominees to lead two of the country’s top health agencies, approving surgeon Marty Makary as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and economist and physician Jay Bhattacharya as director of the National Institutes of Health.

Dr Makary, a public health researcher and professor at Johns Hopkins University, secured confirmation in a 56-44 vote, with support from three Democrats. Dr Bhattacharya, a professor at Stanford University, was confirmed by a narrower 53-47 vote, backed only by Republicans.

Both officials were nominated amid growing debate over the direction of federal health policy under Trump’s second term. During their confirmation hearings earlier this month, the pair faced pointed questions over their views on vaccines and pandemic-era mandates, especially in light of their past criticism of masking and school closures during COVID-19.